Dispensing closure



April 0, 1948. H. N. PERELSON 2,439,985

DISPENSING CLOSURE Filed March {50; 1945 MU k 1 I NV EN TOR.

\ HHEOLO/YPERA'LJOIY.

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Patented Apr. 20, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICIE Application March 30, 1945, Serial No. 585,739

'3 Claims.- (01.222-545) This invention relates to a closure for receptacles, and particularly pertains to a dispensing closure.

In the use of receptacles within which liquids, powders and pastes are contained, and particularly receptacles of the collapsible tube type, various devices have been provided as a substitute for the usual screw closure cap. These devices have usually been placed upon the container to remain until the contents of the container have .10

been exhausted, and have also been constructed so that they could be manipulated to open and close a discharge orifice through which the contents of the container could be dispensed. In most'instances such devices have been cumbersome and expensive and have involved the use of springs and complicated parts for their operation. Furthermore, most of these devices when closed have allowed some of the contents of the dispensed material to accumulate on the outside 1 of the structure so that it had an unsightly appearance, and so that there was difliculty in open ing and closing the structure. In structures where. springs have been used the material is often deposited on the spring so that it becomes, ineffective and will not close the structure. It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a dispensing closure which is decidedly simple in construction and hasa minimum number of working parts-requiring a positive manual operation to open and shut the closure when the device is mounted upon the dispensing end of a tube or other receptacle, the structure being so designed as "to concealthe discharge orifice when it is closed,

dispensing closure in its open position and indicating its relationship to a container in dotted lines, and further indicating by dotted lines material dispensed therefrom.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation showing the dispensing closure with its parts in their closed V 2 Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation showing the end of the dispensing closure which receives a tubular extension of a receptacle.

Fig. 4 is a view in central vertical section through the dispensing device, as seen on the line 44 of Fig. 3, and shows the relationship of the hinged closure member and the body structure.

Fig. 5 is a view in transverse section as seen on the line 55 of Fig. 4 and shows the relation of the body member to the hinged closure and the hinge pin.

Fig, 6 is a view in transverse section through Fig. 4 of the drawing, showing the manner in which the body member nests within the hinged closure.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I0 indicates a receptacle which may be a collapsible tube, such as is used for dispensing tooth paste and shaving cream. A tube of this character is usually constructed with a cylindrical threaded end extension, not shown in the drawing, but upon which a dispensing closure II is mounted. The dispensing closure II with which the present invention is concerned comprises a body member I2 and a hinged closure I3. These membersprovide jaw-like portions which are articulately connected, as will be hereinafter explained. The body member has a substantially cylindrical base portion formed with a central threaded bore [4. to receive a threaded tubular extension carried by the receptacle l0. Formed longitudinally through the base portion and upon the longitudinal central axis of the threaded bore [4 is a discharge passageway l5 through which material from the receptacle Ill may flow or be extruded. Attention is directed to the fact that the passageway I4 extends through a portion. l6 of the 'body member, which is at its outer end falls short of the entire length of the body member, so that a lip ll occurs in advance of and below the'lower edge of the passageway l5. This liplies in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the longitudinal axis of the passageway I5. By reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, it will 'be seen that the upper portion I6 of the body member I2 is of lesser width than the overall width of the body member, thus forming side lips I! and which are a continuation of the lip I! and extend rearwardly along the sides of the body member l2 to merge into the walls IQ of arcuate recesses, one of which occurs on each side of the body member adjacent to its base. The arcuate recesses defined by the faces it each have a flat surface l9, which surfaces are parallel to each other andto the longitudinal axis of the passageway l5. Seated within the arcuate recesses and nested over the portion of the body member l2 are the cars 20 of the hinged closure l3. The hinged closure is a shell-like structure which is held in position by a transversely disposed pivot pin 22, shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings as extending through the upper portion l6 of the body member I2 and through the opposite ears 20. The wall thickness of the hinged closure I3 is substantially equal to the width of the lip i! on the body member. Side wall portions 23 seat upon the lips N and [l of the body portion while an end portion 24 is formed to swing down over the end 25 of the portion I6 of the body i2 and to cover and conceal the end of the discharge passageway 15. It will be noted that since the axis of pivot pin 22 is relatively close to the axis of passageway I5 and at right angles thereto, and that the hinged portion i3 is relatively long, the outer portion 24 will move in a plane substantially normal to the axis of passageway l5 and across the end of the passageway to open and closed positions.

By reference to Figs, 2 and 3 of the drawings it will be seen that the cylindrical base portion of the body i2 is formed with a recess 26 in its upper face. This recess is defined by a fiat bottom'wall 21 and opposite parallel side walls 28. The side walls 28 join the arcuate faces N! of the recesses, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The hinged closure I3 is formed with an operating tongue 29 which extends between the faces 28 of the recess 26 and which, due to the depth of the recess 26, may be forced downwardly so that the hinged closure 13 will swing upwardly at its free outer end to uncover the end of the discharge passageway 15. The body member l2 and the hinged closure i3 provide jaw-like members which when spread apart uncover the end of the discharge passageway 15.

The exact external contour of the dispensing closure may be made as a designer may prefer. As here shown the assembled structure is substantially cylindrical at its base and continues in a substantially frusto-conical length, terminating in a smooth rounded end. It is desirable that the joints between the jaw-like portions comprising body member l2 and the hinged closure l3 shall be defined by faces which fit squarely, so that there will not be any possibility for extraneous material to accumulate between them, and furthermore, it is desirable that the composite outer contour of the dispensing closure shall be defined by a continuous smooth surface so that material will not accumulate thereon and so that the structure may be easily wipedand maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

In operation of the device the dispensing closure may be applied to the threaded extension of a receptacle ill by screwing the body portion l2 of the device into the threaded bore 14. When this has been placed in position tightly material. from the receptacle in may be forced to flow through the discharge passageway 15. It should be explained that sufiicient friction occurs between the pin 22 and the ears 20 of the hinged closure to retain the hinged closure in any set position, either closed or open. When it is desired to dispense material from the container pressure is exerted upon the tongue 29 at a. This will cause the hinged closure to swing around the axis'of the pivot pin 22 to uncover the end of the discharge passageway l5, as shown in Fig. l of the drawing. This will permit material, as indicated by the dotted lines X, to be discharged from the dispens- 4 ing closure. When a desired quantity of material has been dispensed it is then possible to exert pressure on the free end of the hinged closure 13, as indicated at C. This will force the end wall 24 downwardly over the end of the discharge passageway l5 and against the lip I! so that the passageway l5 will not only be closed but will be concealed, and so that there will not be any surplus material on the outside of the dispensing closure. It will be seen that due to the shape of the structure the device may be easily grasped and manipulated, and that after material has been dispensed the outer surface of the structure may be easily wiped so that it will at all times maintain a sightly condition.

It will thus be seen that the structure here disclosed is simple in construction, and that it maybe manufactured cheaply. It will also be recognized that by the use of this device it is not necessary to remove the cap from the receptacle, and that the structure may be easily opened and closed without the accumulation of an external deposit of material being dispensed. While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes may be made in com bination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.-

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a body member having a tubular threaded end portion adapted to receive the threaded end of a receptacle, 2. jaw-like extension of said body member having a discharge-passageway extending longitudinally thereof and'ccmmunlcating with the tubular end portion, said jaw-like portion having a shoulder extendingalong the two sides and across the end thereof in a plane parallel to the axis of the discharge passageway and at one side of said passageway, ahinged shelllike closure fitting over the jaw-like extension. of the body member and resting upon theface of said shoulder, the end portion of said shell-like closure extending across the outer end of the discharge passageway, and pivotal means articulately connecting the hinged closure with the'body member upon an axis parallel to the plane of said shoulder and at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the passageway, said pivotal axis being contiguous to the passageway and disposedat the end of the jaw-like extension of said-body adjacent to the tubular portion.

2. A dispensing closure comprising an elongated body member, a threaded bore in one end thereof to receive the threaded end of a container, a longitudinal discharge passagewayextending from said threaded bore throughout the length of the body member, a fiat shoulder formed along the opposite sides andacross the end of the body member in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis oi the discharge passageway and offset a distance greater than the radius of said passageway irom the axis thereof, the portion of the body member above said shoulder being reduced in dimensions agreeing with thewidthof the shoulder, an elongated hinged shell-like closure fitting over said reduced portion of the body member and having side walls resting upon said-shoulder and an end wall resting upon said shoulder and normally covering the end of the discharge passageway, and an articulate connection between the hinged closure .and the bodymembernear the inner end of the closure and in a plane transversely of the longitudinal axis of the discharge passageway and at a point passing through the portion of the body member of reduced dimensions whereby the hinged closure may be swung toward and away from a closing position and the end wall of said closure will move in a path of travel substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the discharge passageway and thereacross.

3. The structure of claim 2 including a recess in 10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 547,657 Baron Oct. 8 1895 1,701,949 Davenport Feb. 12, 1929 1,743,293 Toft Jan. 14, 1930 1,976,426 Zisch Oct. 9, 1934 2,015,999 Frank Oct. 1, 1935 2,111,186 Jenks Mar. 15, 1938 

